Delfina Perez Chilel’s failure to pick up her two children from a Hallandale Beach, Florida, daycare last Friday sparked immediate concern.
Chilel, 41, was known for being punctual, so when the clock struck 9 p.m., the workers at the center became concerned and called the police. A relative picked up the children, aged 8 and 9, and informed the cops that Perez Chilel’s car was parked in her driveway, as was their father, Victor Chavez’s.
However, according to the relative, no one answered the door.
“The family members informed officers about the parent’s history of domestic disputes, concerns over the father’s mental health, and prior threats,” Hallandale Beach Police Department spokeswoman Grace Mariot told local ABC affiliate WPLG.
According to the report, when police entered the home, they discovered a “horrific” scene. Perez Chilel, 20 weeks pregnant, was discovered in a bathroom with “severe injuries,” while Chavez, 38, was found in a bedroom, “lethargic and unresponsive,” according to authorities.
Perez Chilel was pronounced dead at the scene after unsuccessful resuscitation attempts. Chavez was taken to the hospital, where he confessed to killing Perez Chilel and attempting suicide, according to police. He was arrested on two counts of second-degree murder, according to booking records.
He is being held without bail in Hallandale’s main lockup.
WPLG heard from a neighbor that Perez Chilel told her that Chavez was angry and jealous, and that he also “looked like a crazy person.”
The neighbor said, “It was clear that he was not a normal person.”
A review of Chavez’s court records shows that he has been arrested three times before for domestic violence. The charges against Chavez in 2017 say that he hit Perez Chilel because he was angry that a former girlfriend of his, not Perez Chilel, was “involved in a new relationship.” The arrest papers show this.
Back in 2015, Chavez was arrested on charges that he hurt his pregnant partner with a 7-inch knife. (The victim’s name is blacked out in court documents, but details point to Perez Chilel as the person who was hurt.)
In 2014, Chavez was arrested on charges of battery and disorderly conduct for allegedly hitting a woman named “Lyliana Perez” because he “got angry over suspected cheating.” Reports say that Perez Chilel was also known as “Lily.”
After a while, charges were dropped in both.
The two kids are now with family, and Child Protective Services is looking into what happened.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Perez Chilel’s younger sister to help pay for the shipping of his body to Guatemala to be buried.
The page says, “My sister was a wonderful mother, daughter, sister, wife, and friend.” “We’ve lost her and the smile she always had for people she met.
She was a part of our lives for a little over 41 years.” I now have to raise her two beautiful kids along with mine. It won’t be easy for them… Both of our niece’s and nephew’s parents died very quickly.
More information about the horrible event has not been made public yet.